Chapter 23
Charlie smiled remembering his great-great uncle. They never did come to a consensus about the cause of the strange phenomena they both were so susceptible to. His heart stings tugged a painfully, wishing the elder man were still alive today. He and Hermione would like each other. He glanced down at the woman yet again, and was surprised to see a pair of warm brown eyes gazing back at him.
"Welcome back," she teased. Her voice was pleasantly husky as an after result of their night activities.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" he asked his voice equally husky and an amazingly pleasant blend of the English and Romanian accents, stronger than ever.
"Sore," she half groaned, half sighed. A content smile stretched along her lips. Charlie chuckled but quickly grew contemplatively quiet as she stretched against him. Hermione glanced up at him questioningly at his sudden silence, and was greeted by a pair of darkening green eyes and a pair of very talented lips.
Later that night, while curled up on the couch eating the stew Charlie had whipped together, they finally had time to relax and simply talk.
"What were you so deep in thought about earlier?" Hermione asked near the end of the meal, resting her head on his shoulder.
"My great-great uncle Darin MacDowell." Charlie answered after a short, thoughtful pause, cleverly hidden by an overly large bit of food.
"MacDowell… the Auror spy who fought through both of Voldemort's risings? I thought he was just a legend." Hermione sat upright and rested her knees on his thighs, her torso facing him. He smiled at her innate curiosity and rested his hand on her legs.
"Not a legend, but legendary… perhaps," Charlie grinned, repeating the man in question's own words verbatim. Hermione smiled lightly, easily seeing Charlie's affection for the man of legends reflected in his eyes.
"Were you close?" she prompted lightly. Charlie nodded thoughtfully, and gave Hermione a considering stare.
"Two peas in a pod… one and the same," he murmured. He paused to steal his nerves, Hermione's confused yet curious look was not lost on him. Knowing he couldn't hide of lie to her, he took a deep breath and began to tell her his story, from the beginning, praying she wouldn't up and leave him every second of the way.
Reviews make the pen flow faster